To summarize this section: what has contemporary GPN research achieved so far? Thanks to
a wealth of literature on global value chains in economic geography and cognate disciplines,
we have now a much better understanding of upgrading processes and their limits. In this
context, particular emphasis has been put on integrating local clusters into global value
networks (Schmitz, 2004; Nadvi and Halder, 2005). A growing body of work is emerging
now that is contextualising global inter-firm networks and value creation processes by
incorporating the role of the state and other non-firm institutions as important agents of GPN
in their analysis (Dicken, 2003; Coe et al., 2004). And last but not least, we know more now
about the embedded and path-dependent nature of GPN development and its spatialities
(Domanski, 2005; Hsu, 2005).